Priit Juho Vesilind (born 4 January 1943) is an Estonian and American senior writer and photojournalist of '' National Geographic'' magazine and an author of nonfiction.Jane Wesman Public Relations
/ref>

Early life and education

Vesilind was born in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

. In 1944, when he was one and a half, his mother Aino took him and his brother Aarne and fled to

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. The family was fleeing the

Soviet occupation During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into two different ...

of his homeland during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

.Interview with Priit Vesilind in journal "Loodus"
/ref> Later, his father Paul Eduard Vesilind rejoined his wife and children and they spent the next five years after the war in

displaced person Forced displacement (also forced migration) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of persecution, conflict, g ...

s camps in Geislingen,

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. In 1949 the family emigrated to the United States of America. He spent his childhood in Beaver, a small town in

Western Pennsylvania Western Pennsylvania is a region in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, covering the western third of the state. Pittsburgh is the region's principal city, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic ...

. He is a 1964 graduate of the liberal arts college of Colgate University, located in the town of

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

Madison County, New York Madison County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 68,016. Its county seat is Wampsville. The county is named after James Madison, the fourth president of the United States, and was fir ...

, earning a BA in English and then an MA in Communications Photography from Syracuse University.

Career

Prior to working for ''National Geographic'', Vesilind served as a lieutenant in the United States Naval Reserve, stationed at the Naval Communications Station, Hawaii. He was a reporter and editor for the ''

Atlanta Journal ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

'', the '' Syracuse Herald Tribune'', and the ''

Providence Journal ''The Providence Journal'', colloquially known as the ''ProJo'', is a daily newspaper serving the metropolitan area of Providence, Rhode Island, and is the largest newspaper in Rhode Island. The newspaper was first published in 1829. The newspape ...

''. Vesilind's career at ''National Geographic'' spanned more than thirty years and he rose to the position of the magazine's Expedition's Editor and Senior Writer.Writer, editor has story to tell in museum display
/ref> Vesilind currently works as a freelance editor, writer, and photographer and lives with his wife, Rima, in

Manassas, Virginia Manassas (), formerly Manassas Junction, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. The population was 42,772 at the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of Prince William County, although the two are separate jurisdi ...

, USA.

Awards

In 2004, Former Estonian President Lennart Meri presented Vesilind with the Order of the White Star, Third Class.

Published works

*''National Geographic on Assignment USA'', Publisher: National Geographic Books (1997), *''Horse People'', Publisher: Bökforlaget Max Ström, Stockholm (2003), *''Eestlane Igas Sadamas—An Estonian in every Port'', Publisher: Kirjastus Varrak, Tallinn (2004), *''Lost Gold of the Republic: The Remarkable Quest for the Greatest Shipwreck Treasure of the Civil War Era'', Publisher: Shipwreck Heritage Press (2004), *''Eesti Aastal 1979—Estonia in the Year 1979'', Publisher: Kirjastus Varrak (2006), , *''The Singing Revolution'', Publisher: Varrak Publishers Ltd (2008), *''When the Noise Had Ended—Geislingen's DP Children Remember'', Publisher: Lakeshore Press (2009), : Co-author Mai Maddisson

References

External links

Jane Wesman Public Relations
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060913174819/http://depts.washington.edu/baltic/papers/travelaccounts/vesilind_1980.htm Priit Vesilind ''Return to Estonia''. National Geographic Magazine, Vol. 157, No. 4, April 1980, pp. 485–511.]
Interview with Priit Vesilind in journal "Loodus"

Writer, editor has story to tell in museum display
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vesilind, Priit 1943 births American non-fiction writers Estonian emigrants to the United States Living people People from Tallinn People from Manassas, Virginia Estonian photojournalists American photojournalists Estonian non-fiction writers Estonian World War II refugees Journalists from Virginia Colgate University alumni Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 3rd Class 20th-century Estonian writers 21st-century Estonian writers